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The Phantom Menace Tour 2007
by Glenice Matthews
The
Rolls-Royce Owners’ Club of Australia, Federal Council, foster the Registers
of the various marques and models with each Registrar reporting to the Federal
Council annually. In Praeclarum there are often reports on what activities
the Registers have been involved in throughout the year. There is a Register
for Silver Ghosts; Derby Phantoms; 20h.ps; Wraiths; Derivatives and the SMART
Register (Silver Spirit, Bentley, Mulsanne and Derivatives). See issue 4-06,
August, 2006 for a complete list and the Registrar contact details for each
Register.
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| Who’s who on the Phantom Menace Tour – May 2007: Phil and Nada Dickerson, John and Sofija Virgo, > Neil Williamson, Mick Rust, Dennis Deasey, Ivan and Deirdre Pearson, Peter and Joyce Cox, Paul Lukes and his Mum, Heather, Peter and Heidi Craig, Linda and Mike Eames… …and reflected in the chrome and deep lustre paint (Glenice Matthews) |
The Derby Phantom Register
usually has an annual run around the time of the Federal Rally. This year, under
the guidance of Derby Phantom Registrar, Phil Dickerson and his wife
Nada, the annual Phantom Menace Tour was organized as an ‘overlander’
from Sydney to Marcoola, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, prior to the Federal Rally.
Being a great distance between the two points, and travelling through the hinterlands,
the Phantom Menace Tour gathered momentum and people as it toured through the
countryside. A stipulation of the Registers is that while the Registers are
interest groups for that particular model, no RROC Member should be is excluded
from the Register Runs. This years Derby Phantom Run was no exception.
The tour started from Sydney
with only two cars: John and Sofija Virgo (SA Branch) in their beautiful
1934 Arthur Mulliner Limousine, 80SK with Neil Williamson (WA President)
as their passenger and Dennis Deasey (Victoria) in his immaculate Silver
Cloud. Mick Rust and I had the misfortune of having our car, 61WJ fail
to proceed on the way to TNT for transportation to Sydney, so we were car-less
for the journey. Fortunately we were picked up by the organizers in Sydney
in an unmentionable modern and taken to their home in Yarramalong where we transferred
to their 1934 Phantom II Park Ward Saloon 173RY which became our very comfortable
touring car. Destination for the first night was Maitland in the Hunter Valley.
There we met up with the next two participants; Ivan and Deirdre Pearson
(Victoria Branch, living in Tasmania) in their 1995 Silver Spur III, LWB Saloon,
ANS55236 and Peter and Joyce Cox (SA) in a 1957 H. J. Mulliner Saloon,
Flying
Spur BC7DJ. The Pearson car has a great history, it was formally the British
High Commissioners vehicle and he used it for an around Australia tour. The
BHC visited all of Australia’s capital cities and places in between. A
documentary was made of this journey. This
first night out, we were split into two groups as accommodation was limited.
Day 2 of the tour
was from East Maitland to Armidale. First stop was the C. B. Alexander Agricultural
College to visit their Historical Homestead and Museum in Tocal. C. B. Alexander
owned many Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, including two Silver Ghosts, a New Phantom
and a Phantom II. In fact, the Dickerson’s car in which we were traveling
was the actual Phantom II owned by C. B. Alexander and is affectionately known
as the Tocal Phantom. Two of his other Rolls-Royces are also owned by Club Members.
Fascinating to all of us was that it is possible to see a record of the service
history of these cars written in pencil on the walls of the garage where they
were once stored. The group spent some considerable time studying these records;
the garage remaining much as it was all those years ago. After Tocal we travelled
via Paterson, Dungog, Gloucester, Walcha, Uralla to Armidale. Using many minor
roads, the scenery was splendid and the mountain passes narrow and slow. The
Tocal Phantom experienced extreme overheating problems and had to be helped
out by generous passers-by who contributed their spare water containers to us.
While the Phantom was quite hot and bothered, there was a distinct change in
the temperature. Armidale was cold at night. It had been a long day, 325 kms,
over hill and dale and one long challenging mountain.
At Tocal, while looking at the Homestead and Museum, we were joined by our next participant; Paul Lukes and his mother, Heather, in his 1929 Phantom II Williams Tourer 111WJ.
Day 3: Armidale
to Casino. A shorter distance today, 260kms but just as challenging. We followed
the Waterfall Way through Wollomombi and Ebor, then onto Grafton via Hemani,
Nymboida and Coutts Crossing; all picturesque country towns in some of the most
stunning New England countryside. The roads, although narrow and relatively
slow were in good condition and gave us the opportunity to really appreciate
the lushness of this part of the country. No drought was evident here.
After checking in at the motel at Casino, we had our first true “technical session”. Overlanders are renowned for their technical sessions. This is where the blokes gather around the cars to do a little cleaning and polishing and tinkering; tightening a screw or two, checking the oil, etc. etc. Everyone is an expert and they are like bees to a honey pot. The girls; well they may go off to do a bit of shopping, or some laundry, or maybe just have a quiet few minutes to themselves. Then, out comes the beer, a glass of wine or two, something to nibble on, and we have a general sit around in the parking lot, the girls having joined their partners by this time. The Casino technical session was a classic. And, we added another car to the tour: 1930 Phantom II, Hooper Limousine, 53GN driven by Peter and Heidi Craig (NSW), and their friends Linda and Mike Eames (NSW) who were travelling with them. We now had 4 Derby Phantoms on the run and 18 participants in all. A very pleasant motley crew!
We were now getting towards the end of our tour. The trip had been relatively trouble free. The Tocal Phantom had cured its overheating problems. There were no more flat tyres or split rims, and any other worries had been fixed along the way. Day 4 was Casino to Toowoomba for our final night together. It was Tuesday May 1 with another 270kms of mostly winding roads and breathtaking scenery as we continued along the Summerland Way to Warwick via Kyogle, Woodenbong and Killarney. At Killarney we joined the New England Highway, our first major road for the whole trip. It was only for the last 86kms. Toowoomba is a thriving metropolis with a mixture of the old and the new.
Taking advantage of our
last night together, another ‘technical session’ was organized in
the motel parking lot and the group showed their appreciation to the organizers,
Phil and Nada Dickerson by presenting them with a small gift. Mick also presented
a couple of other awards to worthy participants. It was all in good spirits
and humour. A special award was given to Paul Lukes’ Mother, Heather who
had enjoyed her experience in an open tourer, as a true blue traveller.
The final day, Toowoomba
to Marcoola, Sunshine Coast, was a little more complicated and challenging and
about 240kms, depending which way you went. There was the opportunity to drive
through the Glass House Mountains along to Maleny, then via Montville, Mapleton,
Nambour to Rally Headquarters. This last day offered much to see and do. The
Glass House Mountains with its individual peaks and vistas are absolutely stunning.
The drive along the ridge with views to the left over the hinterland and to
the right to the ocean were quite breathtaking; especially when going up and
down grade 10 slopes. I thought to myself, thank goodness we are not in a Ghost
and have four wheel brakes!
It had been a successful
tour. The cars all ran well (apart from the usual glitches) and we did not lose
any cars or any body. Though the distances were great, we did it all without
incident. We had some great ‘technical sessions’ and new friendships
were made. The Phantom Menace Tour was a memorable event.
Thanks to the Registrar of the Register and its members. We look forward to many more miles on the road together.